“I smile every day on the way home,” said Purcell, the owner of Bay Ice Cream, a boat that sells treats to boaters and beachgoers along the shores of Shell Island, St. Andrew Bay and Grand Lagoon. “That’s pretty much our whole day — we ride around making people happy.”

Purcell skimmed the coast of the “kiddy pool” area of Shell Island Tuesday and was greeted by dozens of children and adults, drawn in by a colorful flag advertising “ice cream” and a traditional ice cream truck jingle.

“Most people have never seen an ice cream boat before,” Purcell said. “We get our picture taken about a thousand times a day.”

“This is the first time we’ve ever seen anything like this,” said Rebecca Shuping, whose family caught the ice cream boat at Shell Island Tuesday while visiting from North Carolina.

When asked about the best part of her vacation so far, Shuping’s 6-year-old daughter, Emily, quickly responded “the Shell Island ice cream boat.”

The idea to launch an ice cream boat business came after Purcell was laid off from his job in 2011. An avid boater and fisherman, he knew ice cream would be an easy sell in the popular tourist area.

Now in its third year, Purcell said Bay Ice Cream has become a part of the tourist landscape. The boat operates on the water seven days a week, weather permitting, from March through October.

Bay Ice Cream has since enlisted help from Tammy Knapp, who posts the boat’s ice cream menu, fashioned on an old skim board, and takes orders from customers.

Knapp was hired as Purcell’s deckhand after answering a Craig’slist help wanted ad titled “the funnest job you’ll ever have on the water.”

So far, the job has lived up to the hype.

“It gets crazy, but it’s the funnest thing I’ve ever done,” Knapp said. “Everyone’s always happy, everyone loves ice cream and it’s great being on the water everyday. From the locals, to the visitors, to the people that don’t speak English, everybody loves ice cream.”

For Purcell, operating Bay Ice Cream has been a rewarding experience.

“I mean, I go to work in my swimming trunks,” Purcell said. “I don’t make a lot, but it’s enough to survive. That’s all that matters.”